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Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS)

  • Undergraduate 2-year program
  • Bachelor of Health Sciences Degree
  • On campus coursework semester 1 and 2 
  • Onsite clinicals semesters 3, 4 and 5

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Students in DMS Lab

The Allen College Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program provides students with the didactic and clinical training necessary to become professionals in the field of diagnostic ultrasound. General or diagnostic ultrasound includes abdominal, pelvic, gynecological, obstetrical and special parts imaging. 

Diagnostic Medical Sonography technologists are employed in hospitals, clinics, physicians' offices, and imaging centers throughout the country. Suitably qualified educators, researchers, and administrators are also needed. DMS is a highly specialized area of imaging and is an integral part of the health care team. This unique, non-invasive technique utilizes high frequency sound waves, along with appropriate detectors and graphics computers, to produce cross-sectional images of internal organs and structures. 

The diagnostic medical sonographer provides patient services by using sonographic equipment to provide physicians with important diagnostic information. The sonographer assists the physician by providing pertinent anatomical, physiological, and/or pathological sonographic data and images necessary to diagnose a variety of medical conditions and diseases.

DMS Admission Requirements

The DMS program begins once each year in the fall term. 

Starting for fall 2025, applicants must complete Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab components before being reviewed for admission consideration.

Program enrollment is limited and based on the availability of clinical affiliates. Because there may be more applicants to the program than there are available positions, completion of prerequisite classes and the BHS application does NOT guarantee admission into the DMS program.

Contact admissions@aprender-a-bailar.com with questions about admission requirements.  

DMS Application Materials

Required application materials can be submitted as they are completed, but all materials must be received before admission consideration.

Complete applicant files are reviewed after the November 1 priority date. Applications received after the priority date are reviewed on a rolling basis. Admission decisions take 3 to 4 weeks after the application is complete. 

DMS General Education Prerequisites

General education prerequisite courses are taken at another regionally accredited institution and transferred to Allen College. 

Applications can be submitted before all general education requirements are complete, but if granted admission, coursework must be completed before starting the program in August.

Anatomy & Physiology I and II with labs must be completed before the application can be reviewed for DMS admission consideration.

DMS Curriculum

The Allen College Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program is a five semester (21-month) full-time diagnostic or general concentration ultrasound program designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in the field.

Students will complete classroom and laboratory work on campus during the first two semesters of the DMS program. Students will be assigned by program faculty to affiliated ultrasound departments for the clinical education practicums for the final three semesters of the program.

Coursework includes effective communication and patient skills combined with knowledge of physics, instrumentation, human anatomy and physiology and pathology. All sonography courses relate to each other, are offered only once during the program and must be taken in sequence.

Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Diagnostic Medical Sonography track of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program is to provide an excellent educational program for men and women seeking careers in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography profession. This mission complements the Allen College and the Bachelor of Health Sciences program.

Program Goals

To prepare competent entry-level sonographers in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains for the abdominal sonography-extended concentration and the obstetrics and gynecology concentration. 

  • Provide the medical community with individuals who have attained the knowledge and skills appropriate for an entry-level sonographer
  • Facilitate the development of effective communication and interpersonal skills
  • Promote the development of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities
  • Provide an environment that supports and promotes professional growth, a commitment to life-long learning and prepares sonography professionals who function as competent members of the health care team

Clinical Practicums

The clinical experience is an essential component in the education of a sonographer. This time allows the student to integrate the knowledge acquired in the classroom and lab to the clinical environment and acquire the skills necessary to become a qualified sonographer and thus constitutes a large portion of the program curriculum. Students will experience a variety of ultrasound exams, equipment, protocols and pathology.

Students will be assigned by the Program Faculty to one or more clinical facilities. The clinical facilities vary in location and distance. The clinical assignments may be located 1 to 5 hours or 300 + miles from the Allen College campus. Students are responsible for their own transportation and living accommodations during the clinical practicums. Relocation to the assigned clinical site may be required.

Students can expect to be at clinical practicums during the weekdays, weekend hours are not available. Clinical practicums are based upon 40 hours per week.

Program Competencies

Demonstrate the technical and critical thinking skills required to perform as entry level sonographers, providing accuracy and proficiency in general diagnostic sonography examinations and procedures

  • Obtain, review and integrate pertinent patient history and supporting clinical data to facilitate optimum diagnostic results 
  • Perform appropriate procedures and record anatomic, pathologic and /or physiological data for the interpreting physician 
  • Exercise discretion and judgment in the performance of sonographic and /or other diagnostic services
  • Demonstrate professional and ethical conduct when interacting and communicating with patients and their families, physicians, other health care professionals and the public
  • Provide patient education related to medical ultrasound and promote principles of good health 

Allen College graduates are encouraged to take a national registry exam administered by one of several organizations. Graduates may be eligible to apply to the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) to sit for the certification exam. In most states, a national exam in sonography is voluntary but obtaining this credential does enhance employment opportunities and may be required by some facilities for employment. Prerequisite eligibility for specific national registry exams varies by organization.

The Allen College Diagnostic Medical Sonography is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709
Seminole, FL 33775
1-(727) 210-2350
www.caahep.org